Shoe last



Dec. 13, 1927; 1,652,286

c. MILLER sacs us'r Fild Avril 25. 1927 INVENTOR CmzS M ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 13, 1927.

UNITED STATES CHARLES MILLER, LONG ISLAND CITY, NEW YORK.

SHOE

Application and April 25,

This application is a continuation in art of my application Serial No. 20,435, ed April 3, 1925,- for protective attachment for shoe lasts and the invention relates to a last for use in connection with the manufacture of shoes.

It has been proposed heretofore to attach the heel to the shoe b means of a screw member passing throug the heel portion of lo the last, which member is screwed into the heel to hold the same in position during the time interval necessar for the drying of the adhesive used. See nited States Patent No. 1,527,168, of February 24, 1925. It has been found in actual practice, however, that the high pressure exerted upon the rear heel LAST.

1927. Serial No. 186,292.

manufacture of turn shoes, there are two lasting operations, and therefore, two measuring operations.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a ging means on the last which eliminata t e necessity for separate measuring operations and which makes possible a more uniform lasting operation.

These and other objects of the invention will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of a last'embodying my invention.

Fi re 2 is a side elevation of a last emportion of the last causes a great deal of 'bodymg amodified form of this invention.

breakage of lasts, and therefore, the cost of manufacture of shoes in accordance with this process is so high as to render the same impractical."

The useof the-screw member for attaching heels is highl desirable, for the reason that with other own methods, the shoe must lie idle for approximately twelve hours, which is the time necessary for the adhesive to dry; whereas, when the screw member is used, the process ofmanufacture of the shoes may be carried on while the adhesive is drying.

during the lasting of-turn shoes, the o erator has occasion to pound the upper e ge of the heel rtion o the last upon a hard surface. T is causes a further loss of lasts due to chipping and breakage at the rear heel portion.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to produce a last which will withstand the various stresses exerted upon it during the process of manufacturing shoes.

In connection with the lastin of the upper the operator must measure by means of some measuring tape or the like, the distance from the heel seat to the top edge of the upper at the heel portion. This measurement determines to a great extent the fit of the shoe, particularly at the edge of the vamp which, contacts with the instep of the wearers foot. If the shoe is lasted too low, the vamp will cut the wearers instep. On the other hand, if the upper is lasted too high, the ed e of the upper will cut the wearers e at the rear above the heel. It will thus be seen that the measurement during lasting must be done carefully and accurately. Also, in connection wit the Figures 3 and 4 are rear elevational views of the lasts shown in Figures 1 and 2 respectively.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the cap shown-in Figure 2- Referring in detail to the drawing the last 10 which may be of any suitable form, and which may be provided with the thimble hole 12 for the reception. of the jack pin, is further provided with a cap member 14 covering the top of the heel portion of the last. The cap 14 has the downwardly extendin portion 14' which embraces the rear an side portions of the last as shown. The cap 14 is formed of any suitable hard metal or alternatively it may be formed of a nonmetallic substance harder than the wood material of which lasts are constructed. Materials such' as bakelite and other phenol condensation products or fibre compositions have been found to be suitable in this connection.

Alternatively the cap 14 maybe formed solid as shown in Figures 2 and 4, the upper portion of the last being cut away to receive this member.

A layer 16 of relatively yieldable material such as sole leather, for example, is placed between the last and the cap 14. A hole or aperture 18 extends from the top to the bottom of the heel portion of the last, to permit the use of a screw member for the purpose of holding the heel in place during the process of attaching the same to the shoe. A suitable metallic lining 20 is formed interioril of the hole 18 for the purpose of protecting the last from being cut by the threads of the screw holding means, and also from being cut by the drill member use to drill the hole in the heel prior to the insertion of the screw member, it being understood that the heel is drilled while in position on the last.

It will thus be seen that the cap 14 with the extension 14* protects the heel portion of the last from breaking or chipping both at the rear and at the sides adjacent thereto.

During the lasting of the upper it is necessary to tack the same to the last temporarily. I, therefore, provide the slot at the rear portion of the extension 14, and insert a wooden plug 24 in this slot, thus providing a tack receiving portion at the rear of the heel portion of the last. Obviously the slot 22 may be of any suitable size or configuration and the plug 2-! may be of any material suitable to receive lastin tacks.

Now, as explained heretofore, it is necessary to properly position the edge of the upper at the rear of the heel rtion during the lasting operations. In or er to guide the operator, and render the product uniform, I provide the markings 26, 28, and 30 cut in the rear of the cap 14. Thus for example, the marking 30 would indicate first lasting and the marking 26 would indicate the second lasting. It is then merely necessary for the operator to position the upper properly with respect to these indicating mar s and a uniform product will be assured, insofar as thelastin at the rear is concerned. Also, the preva ent disadvantage of cutting the wearers foot at the instep in connection with ladies slippers will be eliminated. The line 32 is provided to properly position the upper with respect to the last in a lateral direction. It will be understood, of course, that any predetermined arrangement of markings may be provided, depending on the particular type of shoes being made.

'hile I-have disclosed a specific embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that many alterations and changes will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. I, therefore, do not intend to be limited by the details of structure except as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United States:

1. A wooden last for shoes, said last being provided with a jack pin recess and an aperture extending from the top to the bottom at the heel portion thereof, a protective cap attached to the top of the heel portion of said last, and an extension formed on said cap at the side and rear portions of the last, said cap having an aperture in alinement with said aperture in the last, whereby said cap forms an entrance to said a erture, said entrance being of a material arder than the material of said last.

2. A last for shoes, said last being provided with a jack pin recess and an aperture extending from the top to the bottom at the heel portion thereof. a protective cap attached to the top of the heel portion of said last, said cap having an aperture in alinement with said aperture in the last, an extension formed on said cap at the side and rear portions of the last, and nail receiving means carried b said extension.

3. A wooden ast for shoes, said last being provided with a jack pin recess and air aperture extending from the top to the bottom thereof, a protective plate of a material harder than the material of which the last is constructed, said plate having an aperture in line with the aperture in the last, an extension formed on said plate at the rear and side portions, and means carried by said plate to serve as a uide in the lasting operation of shoe manu acturc.

4. A wooden last for shoes, said last being provided with a jack pin recess and an aperture extending from the top to the bottom thereof, a protective plate of a material harder than the material of which the last is constructed, said plate having an aperture in line with the aperture of the last. an extension formed on said plate at the rear and side portions, means carried by said plate to serve as a guide in the lasting operation of shoe manufacture, and means carried by said extension to receive tacks or nails.

CHARLES MILLER. 

